Skeleton pole



Nov. 9, 1937; L. LAWTON 2,098,343

SKELETON POLE Filed NOV. 18, 1956 INVENTOR 11 ayvzon BY /VQ 0414i ATTORNEY'S lamps and other purposes.

Patented Nov. 9, 1937 UNITED STATES,

PATENT v OFFICE 2,098,343 SKELETON POLE Lon Lawton, Stevenson, Wash. Application November 18, 1936, Serial No. 111,433

3 Claims. (01.,189-24) in Fig. drawn on the same scale and in the My invention relates to fabricated steel or metal poles of a type required for supporting overhead transmission or communication lines. and also to poles used as standards for street An object of my invention is to construct a metal skeleton pole which will combine lightness, simplicity and economy of construction, and strength to withstand the stresses to which such poles may be subjected.

. Another object of my invention is to provide a method of constructing such poles which can be used for poles of various sizes and for poles requiring various degrees of strength and rigidity.

I accomplish these and incidental objects by making a skeleton pole with a superstructure composed of a plurality of longitudinal bars arranged on the outside of a spiral frame comprising helically shaped rods, with rings slipped" over the outside of the longitudinal bars at regular intervals, holding the bars against the inner spiral frame, and with all the contacting points between the longitudinal bars, inner spiral frame, and outer rings welded,the number of longitudinal bars, spiral rods and. outer rings depending largely upon the rigidity and strength desired for the pole.

The manner in which my skeleton pole is constructed will be apparent fro-m a brief description with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is an elevation of my skeleton pole showing the pole completely assembled and set up and attached to the base section; I

Fig. 2 is a view in isometric perspective of the upper portion of the base section drawn on a larger scale than Fig. 1;

- Fig. 3 is a view in isometric perspective of the bottom portion of the pole itself, with part of the bottom plate 11 broken away, and showing details of construction of the lower part of the pole;

Fig. 4.- is another view in isometric perspective of the bottom portion of the pole, but showing the bottom tilted the opposite way from Fig. 3 affording a view of the top face plate (1;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view in isometric perspective of a section of the pole at the ring 0 of Fig. 1, drawn to the same scale as Figs.:2, 3

and 4, but with the pole rotated 45 from the position of Fig. 4; r I

Fig. 6 is a view in isometric perspective of the part of the pole located above the portion'shown of the bottom same position as Fig. 3;

Fig. 7 is a view in isometric perspective of the top portion of the pole;

Fig. 8 is a horizontal section corresponding to the line 8-8 of Fig. 1 but drawn on a larger scale than Fig. 1;

Fig. 9 is a view in isometric perspective of the lower portion of the pole and of the bottom plate, illustrating a modified method of constructing the lower portion of the pole.

Referring first to Figs. 1 and 2, a denotes the base section or support for the pole. I have found it preferable to make this base section in the form of a cast metal hollow cylinder or pipe of suitable length with the bottom end closed, except for a small opening which may be left for convenience in the lifting or moving of the base section, and with the top open and formed with an annular flange b.

The pole itself is comprised of a number of longitudinal metal bars f arranged about a spiral frame formed by one or more spiral shaped rods such as h. and m,-the spiral rods h and m and the longitudinal bars 1 being secured to a bottom plate d,-and' with rings such as n, o, p slipped over the longitudinal bars J when the latter are in position and holding the longitudinal bars against the inner spiral frame.

The lower portion of the pole is shown more clearly in Figs. 3 and 4. The bottom plate d, which is preferably of the same size as the outer circumference of the annular flange b of the base section a, is provided with a number of holes 6 corresponding in size and location to holes 0 in the flange b of the base section, so that when the pole is set up on the base section, it can be securely fastened thereto by suitable bolts or rivets extending thru the registering holes 0 and e.

The irmer spiral frame for the pole, as illustrated in the drawing, comprises two spiral formed rods h and m wound in the same direction, the lower ends of which are welded to a ring :i, at diametrically opposite points, the ring in turn being welded to the bottom plate 12. Similarly, the upper ends of the spiral rods h and m, when the pole is completed, are welded to a ring In (see Fig. 7). The longitudinal bars 1, which extend the desired height of the pole, may be made of angle iron, as illustrated in the drawing, and have their bottom ends securely attached to the bottom plate d. I- have found that a satisfactory manner of attaching the bottomends ofthe-bars f to the plate d is to out away one face or leg of each of the bars J a distance greater than the thickness of the bottom plate d and to provide the bottom plate d with slots to receive the ends of the bars J. These ends of the bars I are inserted in the slots in the plate d and bent over to lie fiat against the bottom face of the plate d, as shown at g in Fig. 3, the ends g then being welded to the plate d. The slots in the plate (1 for the ends of the bars are equally spaced in ,acircle about, and concentric with, the ring y', so that the bottoms of the bars will touch the outer edge of the ring 9'.

The bars 1 are preferably all arranged in the.

same position with respect to the inner spiral frame, that is all the bars J have the inside of-'... their angular face opposed to the spiral frame,

or all the bars J could be reversed and have their outside angular ridgeplaced iadjacentito the inner spiral frame. While I have shown, as my preferred construction, the longitudinalbars J made of angle iron, they could also bemade of I-beams, channel iron,ior hollow tubing.

A plurality of rings or. hoops, such as indicated at n, o and p in Fig. 1, are placed over the outside of the longitudinal ,bars at regular intervals and a top ring r (see Figs. 1 and 7) finishes the top end of the pole. i

Preferably the pole is tapered upwardly, the top ring it being made smaller in diameter than the bottom ring 7', and the spirals formed by the rods h and m are tapered upwardly. The rings 1L, 0, etc., are composedso. as .to' be made with uniformly graduated diameters, respectively, the lowest ring 11. being of greatestdiameter and the top ring 2 being the smallest in diameter. The

roper taper of the poleis assured by spacing the uniformly graduated rings at equal distances apart along the length of the pole. When the outside rings have been set inplace, and the top ends of the spiral rods 11. and'm and of the longitudinal bars have been welded to the upper ring 7c, the longitudinal bars .1 are weldedto' the spiral rods h and m wherever suchspiral rods touch or cross the longitudinal bars, and the rings n, 0, etc., are weldedtothe outside of the longitudinal bars J in their proper. position. The combining and welding together ofssthe inner spiral rods, the. longitudinal-bars, andthe outer rings insures a strong pole suitable for any ofthe purposes which I have indicated. The

strength and rigidity of the pole can be increased by increasing the number. of longitudinal bars by increasing the numberof coils formed by the spiral shaped rods h and m, and a1so.by increasing thenumber'of inner spiral rods, asv well as increasing the number of external rings. The external rings n,;o,';.etc., may be spaced at any equal distances along. the pole, but are pref-' erably placed at the points where the longitudinal bars f are crossed by the spiral rods m and h, thus holding the rods against the surfaces of the interior spiral. By placing the rings close enough together, they may also be conveniently made to serve as a ladder facilitating the climbing of the pole. a

' In actual practice I -have found it preferable; to space the rings approximately :two feet. apartregardless of the number of' inner spiral. rods or the number of coils of the spiral.

In the accompanying .drawing 'I have shown the inner spiral frame comprised of two spiral formed rods. my skeleton pole with an'innerspiral frame comprlsing a single spiral-rod, such rodhaving a greater numberof. turns or coils than the rods It would be possible to construct h or m of Fig. 1, but I consider the construction with a single spiral rod less desirable. The preferred construction is with two or more spiral rods, and for ordinary purposes two spiral rods, identically shaped, extending in the asme direction, and set opposite each other, will be sufficient.

As a reinforcement for the lower end of the pole structure angle iron braces (see Figs. 1, 3 and 4) may be welded to the longitudinal bars I and bottom plate d. Fig. 9 shows these braces s omitted and instead an outer ring 25 fitted about the base of the longitudinal bars and welded to the bottom plate d. Other means of bracing or reinforcing the lower portion of the pole structure will readily suggest themselves if such bracingor reinforcing is desired.

The base section a for my skeleton pole may beset in the ground or in a concrete foundation orother pedestal. When the base section is set directly in the ground, the closing of the bottom end of the base section will offset the tendency for the section to sink too far into the ground when the pole is placed upon it. The interior of the base section may be filled with concrete or other material before the pole is set up on the base section, and: such filling will serve as an additional ballast for the pole.- The base section can be of any size so long as the flange b is made so that the plate dean be properly secured to the base. The size of the base section a is preferably governed by the soil conditionsv and other local conditions.

The assembling and setting up of the pole is a relatively simple matter. Because of the light weight of the pole, rendering its transportation easy, the assembling and welding together of the parts can preferably be done in the factory. However, if desired, the assembling could also be done on the'ground where the pole is to be placed, provided there is suitable welding means on hand. The inner spiral rods, such as h and m, after being pre-formed or wound into spiral shape slightly greater in diameter than required for the finished pole,-are arranged and attached to the bottom ring 7' and ring 9' is attached to plate d. The ends of the longitudinal bars are then secured to the plate 11. Next the rings n, '0, etc., are slipped over the outer ends of the bars and forced into proper place. These rings force the longitudinal bars against the inner. spirals compressing the latter slightly. The upper ends of the bars I are then welded to the upper inner ring it. Then the inner spiral rods h and m are welded to the ring R: and any ends of the spiral rods h and m extending above'the ring k-are cut off. Then the welding between inner spiral rods, the bars I, and the outer rings is done at the points of contact. When the base section has been put in place, the skeleton poleis set on the base in upright position and secured to the base section in the manner indicated.

The comparative diameters of theupper and lower rings It and 7' determine the taper of the pole, and the external rings n, 0, 12, etc., are made with'graduated diameters accordingly, depending upon the amount of taper and also upon the desired spacing of the external rings. The external ringswhen forced into place over the outsideof the longitudinal bars f, will hold securely in their positions even without being welded to the longitudinal bars. This skeleton pole could, of course, be made without a taper, but in such case the external 'ringsmight have a tendency to slip out ofnplace untilfirmly welded to the longitudinal bars. The tapered pole I regard as the preferable construction for ordinary purposes.

The skeleton pole in this invention is thus simply and inexpensively constructed. It is light and strong, but ofiers little resistance to the wind. It is adaptable to many uses and when employed as a support for street lamps lends itself to further ornamentation. It may be made of iron, steel, aluminum, aluminum steel, or any other suitable metal.

I claim:

1. A skeleton metal pole including a base plate, a resilient metal spiral attached to said base plate, said spiral extending approximately the full length of said pole, a plurality of longitudinal struts attached to said base plate about said spiral, said struts extending the full length of said pole, a series of encircling rings placed on said struts so as to cause said struts to compress said spiral, said rings securedin place on said struts at equal intervals.

2. The combination described by claim 1 with said rings of progressively smaller diameter,

whereby to force said struts and spiral into a 5 taper.

3. A skeleton metal pole including a base plate, a plurality of similar sized resilient metal spirals, wound in the same direction, attached to said base plate and extending approximately the full 10 said struts so as to cause said struts to compress 15 said spirals, said rings secured in place on said struts at equal intervals.

LON LAWTON. 

